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[quote]QUOTE: Originally posted by RudyRockvilleMD Surely the train is competitive with air travel in Europe timewise on a portal-to-portal basis. A TGV runs non-stop between Paris and Marseille - a distance of nearly 500 miles - in 3 hours so it averages ~ 160 mph, and it cruises close to its top speed of 186 mph. Here in the United States we have the Acela Express, whose top speed is 150 mph, but it can only go that fast on 18 miles of track in Massachusetts. The same train takes 3 1/2 hours between Boston and New York, average speed 66 mph! You call that high-speed?? Don't blame Congress or the Department of Transportation for this! Blame Amtrak for not really knowing what high speed passenger service means. [/quote] It is very hard to travel at high speed on lines that are rated for a max of 75-80 mph, the number of level crossings also limits speed. The lines in Europe are DESIGNED for high speed, France had a totally new high speed line built post war to replace the one destroyed by the US Air Force. You want high speed, you upgrade the line, bank the curves, grade separate thelevel crossings, new signalling for higher speeds, heavier rails, new caternary, etc... All of which costs millions. As well, over in Europe, airlines are not as subsidised as much as over here. If the US government gave passenger rail the same subsidies that the air lines got, it wouldn't need a budget from Congress, in fact, it could give congress back money, yet still afford to upgrade all its property.
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